Psalm 85

To the director.* A song of praise
from the Korah family.
1Lord, be kind to
your country.
Jacob’s {people
are exiles* in a foreign country.}
Bring the exiles back to their country. 2Lord, forgive
your people!
Erase their sins!
SELAH* 3Lord, stop being
angry.
Don’t be mad.
4Our God and
Savior, stop being angry
at us,
and accept us again.
5Will you be angry
at us forever?
6Please, make us
live again!
Make your people happy.
7Lord, save us
and show us that you love us.
8I heard what the
Lord God said.
He said there would be peace
for his people and loyal followers.
So they must not go back to their foolish
way of living.
9God will soon
save his followers.
We will soon live with honor on our land.
10God’s true love
will meet his followers.
Goodness and peace will greet them
with a kiss.
11People on earth
will be loyal to God,
and God in heaven will be good to them.* 12The Lord will
give us many good things.
The ground will grow many good crops.
13Goodness will go
in front of God,
and prepare the way for him.

director Or, “performer.”
exiles People who have been forced to leave their country
and
live in some other country.
SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the
singers should pause here or the music should be louder here.
People … to them Literally, “Loyalty will sprout from the
ground. And goodness will look down from the sky.”

Psalm 86

David’s prayer.

1I am a poor,
helpless man.
Lord, please listen to me
and answer my prayer.
2Lord, I am your
follower,
please protect me!
I am your servant.
You are my God.
I trust you.
So save me.
3My Master, be
kind to me.
I have been praying to you all day.
4Master, I put my
life in your hands.
Make me happy, I am your servant.
5Master, you are
good and merciful.
Your people call to you for help.
You really love those people.
6Lord, hear my
prayer.
Listen to my prayer for mercy.
7Lord, I am
praying to you
in my time of trouble.
I know you will answer me!
8There is none
like you, God.
No person can do what you have done.
9Master, you made
every person.
May they all come worship you.
May they all honor your name.
10God, you are
great!
You do amazing things!
You, and you only, are God!
11Lord, teach me
your ways,
and I will live and obey your truths.
Help me make worshiping your name
the most important thing in my life.
12God my Master, I
praise you
with all my whole heart.
I will honor your name forever!
13God, you have
such great love for me.
You save me from the place of death.
14Proud men are
attacking me, God.
A gang of cruel men
are trying to kill me.
And those men don’t respect you.
15Master, you are
a kind and merciful God.
You are patient, loyal, and full of love.
16God, show that
you hear me
and be kind to me.
I am your servant.
Give me strength.
I am your servant.
Save me!
17God, give me a
sign to show
that you will help me.
My enemies will see that sign,
and they will be disappointed.
That will show that you heard my prayer
and that you will help me.

Psalm 87

A song of praise from the Korah family.

1God built his
temple
on the holy hills {of
Jerusalem}. 2The Lord loves
Zion’s gates
more than any other place in Israel.
3City of God,
people say wonderful things
about you.
SELAH* 4{God
keeps a list of all of his people.}
Some of them live in Egypt* and Babylon.
Some of them were born in Philistia, Tyre,
and even Ethiopia. 5God knows every
person born on Zion.
God Most-High built that city.
6God keeps a list
about all his people.
God knows where each person was born.
SELAH* 7{God’s
people go to Jerusalem
to celebrate the special holidays.}
They are very happy.
They are singing and dancing.
They say,
“All good things come from Jerusalem.”

SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the
singers should pause here or the music should be louder here.
Egypt Literally, “Rahab.” This names means the “Dragon.” It
became a popular name for Egypt.

Psalm 88

A song of praise from the Korah family.
To the director.* About a painful sickness.
A maskil*
from Heman the Ezrahite.

1Lord God, you are
my Savior.
I have been praying to you
day and night.
2Please pay
attention to my prayers.
Listen to my prayers for mercy.
3My soul has had
enough of this pain!
I will soon die.
4People already
treat me like a dead man,
like a man too weak to live.
5Look for me among
the dead people.
I am like a dead body lying in the grave,
one of the dead people you forgot,
cut off from you and your care.
6You put me in
that hole in the ground.
Yes, you put me in that dark place.
7God, you were
angry at me,
and you punished me.
SELAH* 8My friends have
left me.
They all avoid me like a person
no one wants to touch.
I am locked in the house
and I can’t go out.
9My eyes hurt from {crying
about}
all my suffering.
Lord, I pray to you constantly!
I lift my arms in prayer to you.
10Lord, do you do
miracles for dead people?
Do ghosts rise up and praise you?
No!
SELAH* 11Dead people in
their graves
can’t talk about your love.
Dead people in the world of the dead
can’t talk about your loyalty.
12Dead people
lying in darkness
can’t see the amazing things you do.
Dead people in the World of the Forgotten
can’t talk about your goodness.
13Lord, I am
asking you to help me!
Early each morning I pray to you.
14Lord, why have
you abandoned me?
Why do you refuse to listen to me?
15Since I was
young, I was weak and sick.
I have suffered your anger,
I am helpless.
16Lord, you were
angry at me,
and the punishment is killing me.
17The aches and
pains are always with me.
I feel like I am drowning
in my aches and pains.
18And Lord, you
forced all my friends
and loved ones to leave me.
Only darkness stayed to be with me.

director Or, “performer.”
maskil The exact meaning of “maskil” is not known. It might
mean “a poem of meditation,” “a poem of instruction,” or “a
skillfully-written poem.”
SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the
singers should pause here or the music should be louder here.